How to clear 150 sq.m of 6 foot tall weeds.
Hi,
I'm looking for advice on whether my idea for clearing my back garden of weeds in feasible. Having left the garden for two years whilst the house has been extended, we are now ready to remodel the garden. As you can imagine it is now overgrown with all sorts of weeds and at around 150 square metre's I'm not going to do it by hand! So in order to bring back the garden into some kind of state where I can start gardening it properly, I've devised a cunning plan. The plan is in two parts. Part one is to dose the whole lot with lashings of glyphosphate (Roundup 5L with its own sprayer) to kill off all the weeds including the roots. Part two is to hire a flame gun and burn off all the now dead vegetation leaving bare soil covered with a fine dressing of ash. My concern is that the burning won't remove the dead weeds, but will leave them charred and very dead but still standing. Some of these are 6-foot tall! Would it be better to rotovate the dead weeds after the weedkiller stage or will the flame gun reduce them to ashes? |
|
|
|
|
"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message ... carelessly. Don't bother with the cheap electric ones with plastic string, as they are a complete waste of time. I've got one of those and it's good for grass but anything woody does snap the 'plastic string' a lot. I wonder though - what's to stop me taking the plastic string off, rewinding it with something stronger like galvanised straining wire and using it like that? -- Martin & Anna Sykes ( Remove x's when replying ) http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~sykesm |
|
The message
from "Martin Sykes" contains these words: I've got one of those and it's good for grass but anything woody does snap the 'plastic string' a lot. I wonder though - what's to stop me taking the plastic string off, rewinding it with something stronger like galvanised straining wire and using it like that? In a word, shrapnel. -- Rusty Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/ |
The message
from Chris Bacon contains these words: wrote: The plan is in two parts. Part one is to dose the whole lot with lashings of glyphosphate (Roundup 5L with its own sprayer) to kill off all the weeds including the roots. Part two is to hire a flame gun and burn off all the now dead vegetation leaving bare soil covered with a fine dressing of ash. You be careful. If you kill that lot, and let it dry, and then set fire to it, you will get the most humungous conflagration that will not only clear the weeds, but your fences too. Do you remember what it was like when burning of stubble from cereal crops was allowed? Oh yes! If you spray with un-got-at sodium chlorate solution, then wait for it to dry, a match (or even a fiery glance) will ignite the lot, and you'll have a mushroom cloud burgeoning over the plot. From the distance of about a mile I saw that happen to a field of several acres: it was ignited by something like a bit of bottle-glass and the sun's rays, and the mushroom cloud rose several hundred feet. But then, pure sodium chlorate with vegetable matter becomes an explosive, and ignorant or injudicious use of it presents a very real danger... -- Rusty Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/ |
The message
from "Martin Sykes" contains these words: "Nick Maclaren" wrote in message ... carelessly. Don't bother with the cheap electric ones with plastic string, as they are a complete waste of time. I've got one of those and it's good for grass but anything woody does snap the 'plastic string' a lot. I wonder though - what's to stop me taking the plastic string off, rewinding it with something stronger like galvanised straining wire and using it like that? Common sense and self-preservation? The resistance encountered by the wire on heavier material would probably burn out the motor. If it didn't, you wouldn't want a little bit of high-velocity wire breaking off on a hidden stone and meeting your bod. Janet. |
In article , Janet Baraclough writes: | | The resistance encountered by the wire on heavier material would | probably burn out the motor. If it didn't, you wouldn't want a little | bit of high-velocity wire breaking off on a hidden stone and meeting | your bod. Considering the number of people who seem to get turned on by having unusual parts of their body pierced with metal, I wouldn't be so certain. I agree that using a strimmer to do that is kinky even by modern tastes, but there's no accounting for tastes. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
The message
from (Nick Maclaren) contains these words: In article , Janet Baraclough writes: | | The resistance encountered by the wire on heavier material would | probably burn out the motor. If it didn't, you wouldn't want a little | bit of high-velocity wire breaking off on a hidden stone and meeting | your bod. Considering the number of people who seem to get turned on by having unusual parts of their body pierced with metal, I wouldn't be so certain. I agree that using a strimmer to do that is kinky even by modern tastes, but there's no accounting for tastes. I know a lady doctor who tells a painful tale of the bloke who claimed he was vacuuming the stairs with a Hoover Dustette, déshabillé, and who sustained dreadful injuries to - um - well, to have fitted, it *MUST* have been a bit of a weed... ...to keep on topic. -- Rusty Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/ |
The message
from Martin contains these words: On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 17:02:40 +0100, Jaques d'Alltrades wrote: The message I know a lady doctor who tells a painful tale of the bloke who claimed he was vacuuming the stairs with a Hoover Dustette, déshabillé, and who sustained dreadful injuries to - um - well, to have fitted, it *MUST* have been a bit of a weed... ..to keep on topic. New Scientist circa 1982. Probably happened a number of times - this particular doc was a hospital doctor, and was I think, in A&E at the time. Mind you, it could well have been the same chopp - er - chopping. -- Rusty Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/ |
On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 21:09:57 +0100, Jaques d'Alltrades
wrote: The message from Martin contains these words: On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 17:02:40 +0100, Jaques d'Alltrades wrote: The message I know a lady doctor who tells a painful tale of the bloke who claimed he was vacuuming the stairs with a Hoover Dustette, déshabillé, and who sustained dreadful injuries to - um - well, to have fitted, it *MUST* have been a bit of a weed... ..to keep on topic. New Scientist circa 1982. Probably happened a number of times - this particular doc was a hospital doctor, and was I think, in A&E at the time. Mind you, it could well have been the same chopp - er - chopping. Some of those devices have a fan inside with nasty sharp metal blades. People should check the clearance before inserting things (or accidentally sucking them in whilst vacuuming the stairs). |
The message
from Jupiter contains these words: I know a lady doctor who tells a painful tale of the bloke who claimed he was vacuuming the stairs with a Hoover Dustette, déshabillé, and who sustained dreadful injuries to - um - well, to have fitted, it *MUST* have been a bit of a weed... ..to keep on topic. New Scientist circa 1982. Probably happened a number of times - this particular doc was a hospital doctor, and was I think, in A&E at the time. Mind you, it could well have been the same chopp - er - chopping. Some of those devices have a fan inside with nasty sharp metal blades. People should check the clearance before inserting things (or accidentally sucking them in whilst vacuuming the stairs). Hoover Dustette vanes aren't particularly sharp, but they do whizz round at (IIRC) 1400 rpm. I think it's part of the Darwin syndrome. -- Rusty Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/ |
The message
from Martin contains these words: Hoover Dustette vanes aren't particularly sharp, but they do whizz round at (IIRC) 1400 rpm. I think it's part of the Darwin syndrome. I think you experimented? :-) My Hoover Dustette is like the wide-mouthed frog, and has a slot, not a circular hole for attaching/inserting 'accessories'. __________________ Sort-of, like this: (__________________) /\ Urm, - THAT up there / \ might be misconstrued: I think I'll try to show the whole thing... ¯||¯ __________ (==========) ¯¯¯)¯¯(¯¯¯ __/ \__ /__________\ | | | | | | | | | | | | |__________| | | ) ( / Bag \ -- Rusty Emus to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/ |
Its now getting too late in the year to apply roundup etc, as most of
the annual weeds have already set seed. So remember the old adage 'one years seeds, seven years weeds' There is no getting round the problem quickly. I personally would still apply roundup now to get the perenial weeds. Strim the remaining brash down with a metal cutter on a petrol strimmer or use a hand sythe. Then burn or cover the remaining brash with carpets or pvc sheeting. Open up the ground again in spring to allow the seeds to germinate, then hit them again with roundup when they are nice and tender. If you plan not to use the area for a year, instead of using roundup in the spring, apply something like pathclear or sodium chlorate to the ground just before the seeds start to germinate. This should last for nearly a year. Professionally I would never rotovate or even rotavate the ground, as this keeps bringing seeds back up to the surface, and also chops up couch grass, ground elder, and bindweed. Keep the seeds buried. I have seen pro lawn layers rotovate ground up, with elder in it, reflatten it, and then lay the turf. Only to find the lawn covered and I mean covered with ground elder the following year. Check out http://www.gb-online.co.uk/gardening...lery/index.htm for typical examples |
All times are GMT +1. The time now is 07:13 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
GardenBanter